Category: 3-DailySometimeCommentary

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Gutting Our National Parks

From the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge, and places in between like Yellowstone and the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the National Park Service has been a point of American pride since its inception. And with a small budget and actually generating revenue, even fiscal hawks had no reason to complain. 

So why is the Trump administration cutting their budget? 

Guests:

Jon B. Jarvis,18th director of the National Parks.

Kevin Heatley, former superintendent of Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.  

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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Audio Mises Wire - Will Jamaica Become a Republic?

Long a constitutional monarchy with ties to Great Britain, many in Jamaica are looking to end the old relationship and become a republic. But is this movement simply a reaction to anti-colonialism, and what kind of constitution would the new republic create? So far, no answers.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/will-jamaica-become-republic

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Here Comes the A.I. Music Slop

It’s hard to make money in the music industry. But if you could flood every streamer with hundreds of “original” songs without having to, you know, write or produce it yourself, there’s money there—and less for everyone else. 


Guests: 

Chris Molanphy, host of Slate’s Hit Parade podcast.

Kate Knibbs, senior writer at Wired


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Audio Mises Wire - US Travel Restrictions for Cuba Violate the Freedoms of Americans and Cubans

A relic of the Cold War, the US embargo and travel restrictions to Cuba violate American freedoms and they accomplish nothing to end Cuba's communist regime or win freedom for Cubans. Yet, this failed policy has persisted for nearly 65 years with no end in sight.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/us-travel-restrictions-cuba-violate-freedoms-americans-and-cubans

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Why it matters that Trump fired data chief

On Friday 1st August the US Bureau of Labor Statistics put out their job report data for August. It included revisions to their estimates for the jobs created in May and June which stated there were 258,000 fewer jobs than they had previously estimated. This news was not received well by the White House. President Trump fired the head of the bureau, Erika McEntarfer, calling the numbers ‘phony, rigged, a scam’ and spreading conspiracy theories that McEntarfer had fudged the data. We speak to economist Michael Strain from the American Enterprise Institute, to understand why the revisions happened and the potential consequences of throwing doubt on one of the US’s most important statistical agencies. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Sam Bonham

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What A Day - RFK Jr. Is Putting American Lives At Risk

If you got a COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna or Pfizer, congratulations, you got a vaccine that uses mRNA to teach your cells how to fight the disease. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is doing his best to undermine their future use. On Tuesday, he announced the cancellation of $500 million in grants and contracts aimed at developing more mRNA vaccines. The decision has received near-universal condemnation from public health experts — even President Donald Trump’s first-term Surgeon General said it will 'cost lives.' Dr. Fiona Havers, an infectious-disease specialist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a former senior advisor on vaccine policy for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joins us to talk about Kennedy’s dangerous decision and the risk it poses to public health.

And in headlines: President Donald Trump says he wants a new Census, The U.S. Air Force said it’s denying the option to retire early to all trans service members who have served between 15 and 18 years, and tariff day is (unfortunately) finally here.

Show Notes:

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The Indicator from Planet Money - More for Palantir, less for mRNA, and a disaster database redemption arc

It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Palantir crosses a billion dollars in quarterly revenue (what do they actually do again?); mRNA vaccine research gets a big cut in RFK Jr's health department; and a climate disaster database gets a new lease on life.

Related episodes:
How Palantir, the secretive tech company, is rising in the Trump era
An indicator lost: big disaster costs
Moonshot in the arm

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